Janet Kurnatowski is pleased to present “HYPE: The Life of Billy ‘Silver Dollar’ Baxter”, curated by David P. Ohliger. This will be the gallery’s last exhibition for 2015.

The Art of Public Relations, Promotion, Publicity, Product Placement

“Make It Important!” was Billy ‘Silver Dollar’ Baxter’s showbiz creed. Now the legendary, Damon Runyonesque press agent and movie producer’s life is the art exhibit showing at the Janet Kurnatowski Gallery in Brooklyn August 1–16, 2015.

Billy got his nickname ‘Silver Dollar’ from Roger Ebert who wrote a chapter about him in his memoir Life Itself: “...Baxter got his nickname because he arrived at Cannes every year with 2,000 American silver dollars, which he bestowed as tips,” Ebert wrote in the chapter “Irving! Brang ‘em on!”

Baxter’s show business career got off to a rocky start in 1961 when he went bankrupt producing the Broadway flop Mandingo, starring Franchot Tone and Dennis Hopper. “I was always before my time,” Billy said later, recalling the notorious play about a slave-breeding plantation he produced three years before the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He then reinvented himself as press agent for the firm he hired to handle Mandingo publicity.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Baxter promoted groundbreaking foreign and independent films La Dolce Vita, ThePawnbroker and many others. He also became the PR consultant and product placement specialist for Philip Morris and American Express.

With partner Herbert R. Steinmann, he presented Lina Wertmüller’s Love & Anarchy, and the first popular LGBT movie of its day OUTRAGEOUS! In 1978, Steinmann-Baxter hit pay–dirt when they presented George A. Romero’s cult classic Dawn of the Dead.

Music and film producer David P. Ohliger presents HYPE: The Life of Billy ‘Silver Dollar’ Baxter. In 2010, Ohliger met Baxter during the production of his independent film Love Stalker. “Billy backed the film and became my mentor. This art exhibit is comprised of mementos, vintage photographs, and promotional materials collected over a lifetime. HYPE is a celebration of a unique man. Here’s to you, Billy. Cheers!”